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The husband handed me a piece of a geode this morning (it looks almost exactly like this picture I pulled from the Web), the texture (and inevitably the look) of which inspired one aspect of the protagonist of this gleefully short story. Yesterday the look of my “texture prompt” definitely inspired the story more than the feel of it. Maybe I should do my best to lock onto my story idea while holding my texture prompt with eyes closed, so that it’s more likely I’ll focus on the sense of touch in the inspired story? Or maybe I should just be glad every time I get an idea that develops into a story and not give into the temptation to grade my process. Yeah, that.

Working Title: The Measure of Trish1st Sentence: You think that a woman who believes in the healing power of crystals, who eats little else but shredded wheat in almond milk, who wears long, black cotton dresses that hide her sandaled feet, making her look as though she doesn’t walk but float, a woman who is as likely to have fresh sage in her pocket as car keys, that woman will never reach across a wobbly, pressed-wood table in the fluorescent-lit break room of your personal corporate nightmare, grab a handful of your hair, and smash your face straight down into a flabby slice of custard pie.Favorite Sentence: That woman has never in her life resisted the call of cured pig.Word Length: 291

Claire Guyton

can't thank the Maine Arts Commission enough for granting her their 2012 literary fellowship, which she used to launch Daily Shorty. Claire writes, edits, coaches other writers, and blogs in Lewiston, where she stays sane by working on her scraggly yard, running 5Ks as slowly as possible, perfecting cracker recipes, and playing badminton. She spends the remainder of her free time with her sweet husband and perfect cats. You can contact Claire at dailyshorty@gmail.com.